President Cyril Ramaphosa’s future seems to be in the balance after some ANC members and tripartite alliance partners refused to back an alliance with the DA.
This after some ANC officials reached out to The Mercury’s sister title, The Star, to reveal that if Ramaphosa chose to strike a deal with the official opposition, they would have to find a way to get him out of the Union Buildings.
The governing ANC a week ago failed to secure a majority for the National Assembly after 30 years, racking up only 40.2% of the 2024 elections votes, announced by the Electoral Commission of SA on Sunday – a sharp drop from 57% in 2019.
For the first time, the party also struggled to reach majorities in Gauteng, the Northern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.
The party’s long term alliance partner, Cosatu, this week rejected the idea of any coalition with the DA in public, accusing them of “fighting against improving the rights of workers”.
The ANC has been in talks with other parties regarding the possibility of coalitions and will hold a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in Gauteng on Thursday. It announced during a media briefing on Wednesday it would be pushing for a government of national unity with the possibility of teaming up with the DA, EFF, IFP and PA, among others.
ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri said: “The ANC is driven by the imperative to maintain national unity, stability and to put in place a government that will move with speed to tackle all the pressing socio-economic challenges our nation faces.
“We believe that despite any differences we may have, working together as South Africans, we can seize this moment to usher our country into a new era of hope.”
Cosatu said it would consult internally and with the ANC and the SACP on a common stance and way forward with regard to the composition of coalition options led by the ANC.
The SACP last night announced that it would not accept any coalition that included the uMkhonto weSizwe Party Two officials of the ANC who did not want to be named told “The Star”, that it had always been Ramaphosa’s plan to befriend the DA, but revealed that did not sit well with Cabinet ministers after the party lost about 70 seats.
ANC stalwart Matthews Phosa said if the ANC were to go into a coalition government with the DA, “they can kiss the 2026 local government elections goodbye as they will lose support in the public”.
He said the defeat at the recent polls will be one of many to come and support for the party will be shaken, even in its strongholds.
“A perception that the ANC is being co-opted by money is not good for us. We must always lean towards the poor masses. The perception that you can be bought is very troubling and dangerous,” he said.
He described the DA-ANC option as a business option, not a mass-based option, saying the ANC must err on the side of the masses and not on the side of business.
“They should form a coalition with the IFP, the EFF and other liberation parties that are in the basket, I do not think the ANC should anchor itself with the DA, I am against that,” he said.
Another ANC stalwart Cheryl Carolus said the people have spoken and decided not to give any party carte blanche and it could be a good thing.
“The people have given over 60% of the vote to the ANC and the DA, the members of the ANC and DA might not like it but that is just the fact and I think as the two biggest parties they have the responsibility to lead us,” she said.
Political analyst Sandile Swana said if Ramaphosa took the DA route, the ANC would face another split.
The Mercury